Assessing Electronic Children’s Books For Use With Garden Activities And Nutrition Education

Research has suggested that gardening may be an effective strategy for encouraging vegetable consumption among young children (Savoie-Roskos, Wengren & Deward, 2017; Triador, Farmer, Maximova, Willos & Kootenay, 2014), and that children’s books may promote healthy eating habits among children by building vocabulary, deepening knowledge, shaping values, and changing perceptions of the unfamiliar, including fruits and vegetables (Horst & Houston-Price, 2015). Although gardening is often a part of nutrition education in elementary and preschool grades, the transition to remote learning that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused many interruptions in traditional learning. This shift to online learning prompted creative restructuring of youth gardening into at-home and virtual projects (Wisconsin School Garden Network, 2020). Closures also reduced access to public libraries which typically provide books and resources to supplement school garden curricula. Thus, many educators and parents were limited to books on hand or freely available electronic books.

Although both hard and electronic copies of children’s books about food are widely available, there have been mixed results from research about the quality and accuracy of nutrition content related to school gardening and nutrition education, particularly books intended for young children (Byrne & Nitzke, 2000; Matvienko, 2016). One study of 104 picture books published between 2000 and 2016 for children ages 4 to 8 years found that only 50% featured a specific eating behavior, while the others discussed table manners, food related emotions, and lifestyle patterns (Matvienko, 2016). Another study reviewed 100 popular children’s picture books (“Scholastic’s Collection of 100 Favorite Books”) in which food was incorporated in both text and pictures (Goldman & Descartes, 2015). Sixty-nine books contained food in both text and pictures; 21 books contained food as the primary theme (i.e. food was integral to the plot), and the remaining 48 books mentioned food in the text or pictures, but not as part of the main story (Matvienko, 2016). Fruit was the most common theme in 57% of the 21 books while vegetables were the least common occurring in 35%.  Another study of 114 books reported 199 food mentions, in which 20% of the mentions were for fruits and 11% were for vegetables (Byrne & Nitzke. 2000), suggesting a lack of enthusiasm for vegetables. None of these studies examined themes of gardening or growing fruits and vegetables, although the American Farm Bureau maintains a list of agricultural education books that includes e-books and lesson plans on these topics (American Farm Bureau, 2020). There is limited research on the quality of nutrition information in freely available books and electronic books that could support schools conducting school gardening programs virtually, at home, or in limited resource communities.

Thus, the purpose of this research project was to evaluate how free, electronic  gardening-themed books for young children (ages 3-8 years) compared with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines and recommended nutritional messages and to identify ways these electronic books  could be used most effectively to support classroom gardening and prompt discussions about nutrition with this age group.

Methods

This project did not involve human subjects and did not require approval by the university’s Institutional Review Board. Popular children’s books were identified based on Scholastics’ list of “100 Greatest Books for Kids”, recommendations from librarians at local public and university libraries, as well as sources of NoveList and NoveList K-8, which is a database of book recommendations for library workers and elementary school teachers. Primary searc databases such as EBSCOhost eBook Comprehensive Academic Collection, New Jersey State Library, Child Care and Early Education Research Connections, and the Bergen County Cooperative Library System were also used. It is important to note that although these electronic books were found on the east coast of the United States of America, the authors represented a variety of regions and growing climates. Each book was searched using key words such as “gardening,” “nutrition,” and “fruits and/or vegetables” with an emphasis on books that were appropriate for young children, ages 3 to 8 years, and were available as free, electronic books. Books were determined to be appropriate for young children based on the age or grade level indicated on the books themselves or the reading lists that were searched.

Coding of Text and Illustrations

The coding approach was guided by previous research examining food-themed books for children (Byrne & Nitzke, 2000; Goldman & Descartes, 2015; Matvienko, 2016). Each book was analyzed page by page by a single reviewer to classify each depiction of fruits and vegetables, gardening, and nutrition in both text and illustration. Covers and title pages were observed for these trends as well. Book contents were identified by fruit (e.g. apples, oranges) and vegetables (e.g. leafy greens, cabbage), gardening (for the goal of healthy eating), and nutrition messages. USDA’s MyPlate (USDA, 2020a) and Dietary Guidelines for children (USDA, 2015) were used to identify healthy versus unhealthy messages and suggest opportunities for inclusion in staff-developed nutrition programs.

Books were also coded based on whether fruits, vegetables, gardening, or nutrition were briefly mentioned but not the main point of the story, or were discussed as a theme throughout the entirety of the story and as such, appeared on almost every page. For each book that was considered a “mention”, pages were coded as “central” if fruits, vegetables, gardening, or nutrition were found in both an illustration and text on that page, or “background” if they were found only in an illustration and not mentioned in the text. For example, for each book that was categorized as a “mention,” if a fruit was identified in the text yet not shown in an illustration, the page would be coded as “background.” If a fruit was mentioned in the text of a book classified as “mention” and was shown in an illustration, the book would then fall under the “central” category. Some books mentioned only fruits, vegetables, nutrition, or gardening (“single mention”), while others mentioned two or more of these in combination (“combined mention”).

Statistical Analysis Used for Coding

Codes and number of pages that focused on single and combined “mentions” of fruit, vegetables, nutrition, and gardening were recorded on a spreadsheet. Data were processed using SPSS (v. 22) to generate descriptive statistics and assess patterns. ANOVA was used to compare “mention” books that had a “central” focus on fruits, vegetables, or gardening with those that had a “background” focus on these themes.

Results and Discussion

A total of 17,189 books was found from all databases searched; of these, 935 books were relevant and suitable for children 3 to 8 years of age. Of the 935 books, 785 books were not accessible online so the final sample focused on 150 books freely accessible online as e-books and PDFs.  The main characters of the stories included fictional humans, anthropomorphic animals and objects, fictional creatures and objects, or both.

Of the 150 books, 116 books were “theme” books and 34 books were “mention” books containing one or more themes of fruits/vegetables, gardening, and nutrition. Of the 116
“theme” books, 25% included only fruit themes, 65% both fruit and vegetable themes, 55% fruit, vegetable, and gardening themes, while 2% contained themes related to fruits, vegetables, gardening, and nutrition. Of the 34 “mention” books, 82% included  fruits, 47% both fruits and vegetables, 26%  fruits, vegetables, and gardening, while 0% contained themes related to fruits, vegetables, gardening, and nutrition.

ANOVA was used to compare number of pages in books that had a “central” focus on fruits, vegetables, or gardening versus those that had a “background” focus on these themes. Because only one page specifically focused on nutrition, this was not included in analysis. All values are reported as means +/- standard deviations, unless otherwise noted. Both categories of books (“central” and “background” focus) had significantly more pages including a combination of fruits, vegetables, and gardens compared to those that contained only single “mentions”. Books with a “central” focus had 8.84 +/- 4.46 vs. 4.00 +/- 2.93 pages, while books with a “background” focus had vegetables most likely grouped together in the context of the mentioning produce in general and/or gardening (2.26 +/- 2.35 vs. 1.36 +/- 1.39 pages) with mentions of specific vegetables less common.

Table 1. Number of Pages by Topic and Type of Focus (N = 150 books)

Topic/Type of Focus		Maximum	M		SD
Fruit		10	3.36		2.05
Vegetable		9	2.11		1.96
Garden		13	2.14		2.54
Nutrition		1	0.04		0.20
Central* Single Combined		25 12 25	25 4.00 8.84		4.41 2.93 4.66
Background** Single Combined		9 6 9	9 1.36 2.26		1.90 1.39 2.35

*p = 0.000 **p = 0.008

All books that mentioned fruits, vegetables, and healthy eating described in messages were assessed for alignment with the Dietary Guidelines (USDA, 2015, 2020a). Table 2 depicts general examples of positive and negative behaviors towards books with common messages about vegetables and healthy dietary messages. Of the 150 books analyzed, 7 were found to incorporate both healthy dietary themes and vegetables in which a majority of characters’ behaviors toward vegetables were negative, while 143 books discussed fruits in a positive way. Of the 143 books, 6 were observed to use fruits in dessert-related situations. Positive behaviors that were emphasized included learning to choose and grow produce for good health. Negative behaviors that accompanied these stories included quickly judging vegetables as unappetizing and fearing that healthy foods would not taste good. Conversely, book characters always indicated their excitement toward fruits prepared in a dessert.

Table 2. Examples of Behaviors Toward Produce Found in Children’s Books (N=150) and Opportunities for Discussion and Action Compared to USDA Recommendations for Feeding Young Children (ages 3-8 years)

Examples of Positive Behaviors in Books	Examples of Negative Behaviors in Books	Recommendations for Feeding Children1	Opportunities for School Nutrition Programs2
Learning to grow vegetables for good health	Refusing food	Introduce new foods on multiple occasions.   Offer one new food at a time paired with a familiar food.	Assist teachers in planning ways to discuss healthy foods across the curriculum.
Learning which foods are best for good health	Bargaining or demanding different food; demanding food that does not involve vegetables or is not healthy	Serve the same foods to everyone at the table.   Make mealtimes pleasing and distraction-free. Schedule recess before mealtimes.	Discuss tips for helping families to plan and prepare meals together based on foods introduced in the classroom and cafeteria.
Impatience to eat fruits	Judging food quickly or by appearance	Encourage enthusiastic modeling and intake of new foods and offer positive reinforcement.   Regularly expose children to new foods and textures to overcome food neophobia.	Assist in planning school activities that integrate classroom nutrition education and school lunch programs.
Excitement towards eating fruit in a dessert (e.g. apple pie)	Fears of trying new food or that “healthy” food does not taste good	Involve children in growing, choosing and preparing foods to try.   Serve a small portion first by providing sliced fruits or serving vegetables while in the lunch line.	Introduce new foods with tactile and visual learning activities.
	Judging vegetables as “icky,” “gross” or “disgusting”	Discuss differences in color, shape and texture.

¹ See the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (2014) and the USDA (2020 a and b).

² See Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics et al., (2018), Graziose and Ang (2018), (Green et al. (2015), Muzaffer et al. (2018), Paroche et al. (2017) and van der Horst et al. (2016)

Conclusions and Applications

Similar to previous findings (Byrne & Nitzke, 2000; Matvienko, 2016), these data show that fruits are mentioned more throughout children’s books in comparison to vegetables or the topic of nutrition. Given that nutrition is a more complex topic, it is not surprising that books for young children focus on aspects of healthy eating instead. Research supports the use of theory-based nutrition education programs for children that focus on specific behaviors and provide knowledge along with behavior change skills, experiences in growing and preparing food, goal setting, and opportunities for active learning (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, et al., 2018). Books can be used to introduce new types of produce and ways to grow and prepare it. They can also set the stage for active learning activities, such as gardening or tasting new foods, or spark discussions about how food is produced and prepared, colors and textures of different types of produce, and health benefits.

Eating-related themes and behaviors and attitudes toward healthy and non-healthy foods were found in this study’s sample of books (N =150) with most agreeing with Dietary Guidelines (USDA, 2015, 2020a). These recommend that children limit the amount of desserts and high sugar foods consumed; only a few books (n = 6) mentioned fruits in the context of a dessert that could be higher in fat and sugar, such as pie. The majority of books (n = 130) encouraged consuming fruits in healthy ways, which is in agreement with the dietary guidance recommending children consume 2 cups of fruits a day (USDA, 2015, 2020a). The books that discussed fruits in healthy ways had few negative behaviors and many positive behaviors toward fruit.

Dietary and MyPlate guidelines also indicate that children should consume 2 ½ cups of vegetables per day (USDA, 2015, 2020a). Of the 150 books that were analyzed, 7 were found to have healthy messages regarding vegetables yet these also contained negative behaviors toward consuming or growing vegetables, similar to findings from Matvienko et al. (2016). Additionally, research done by Byrne and Nitzke (2000) showed that vegetables were not the most popular theme for children’s books with a conclusion that this may encourage negative feelings about vegetables.

Research about the effectiveness of electronic versus printed books on learning outcomes (e.g. learning to understand a story and recognize details for elementary-aged children or learning new words at the pre-school age) among young children has been mixed and has largely focused on topics related to literacy rather than nutrition (Bus, Takas & Kegel., 2015; Munzer, 2019).  However, their low cost and availability, particularly when libraries are inaccessible such as during the COVID pandemic, may increase the likelihood that parents and teachers will use them.  Teachers and school nutrition professionals can also use electronic books to incorporate nutrition into the classroom through virtual or traditional learning. In addition, a team of school staff consisting of educators and those with nutrition expertise can help parents extend that learning at home with provision of a reading list of free, nutrition-themed books and discussion questions. An example is shown in Table 2. Teachers can encourage their students to take away mindful, healthy messages from books about vegetables by using storybook characters’ behaviors to stimulate class discussion. For example, acknowledging that vegetables have different textures, colors, and flavors that are at first unfamiliar to book characters can lead the way for a positive discussion of vegetable variety.  School nutrition staff can work with teachers and parents to develop discussion questions and provide interactive encounters with vegetables to increase familiarity. They can also use books to incorporate nutrition across the curriculum as part of reading class and to reinforce hands-on learning activities such as gardening in the classroom or at home.  Finally, books that describe agriculture across the United States and around the globe can be used by school nutrition staff and teachers to introduce students to diverse cultures, ecosystems, and food crops.

Thus, while the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and transition to remote learning have brought unique challenges, new opportunities for creative online learning that can encourage healthy eating among children and their families in communities where traditional books and libraries are not accessible are presented.